The Pacifier
| writer = | starring = | music = John Debney | cinematography = Peter James | editing = Christopher Greenbury | studio = * Spyglass Entertainment }} | distributor = Buena Vista Pictures | released = | runtime = 95 minutes | language = English | country = United States | budget = $56 million | gross = $198.6 million }} The Pacifier is a 2005 American family comedy film directed by Adam Shankman, written by Thomas Lennon and Robert Ben Garant and stars Vin Diesel. The film was released in March 2005 by Walt Disney Pictures and grossed $198 million worldwide. It has a 20% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, which called it "only moderately amusing." Plot U.S. Navy SEAL Lieutenant Shane Wolfe is assigned to rescue Howard Plummer, a man working on a top-secret government project, from a group of Serbian rebels. Shane and his team successfully get Plummer off an enemy boat. However, while boarding the helicopter to escape, the team is attacked by the enemy. Plummer is killed, and Shane spends two months in the hospital. Wolfe's commanding officer, Captain Bill Fawcett, is assigned to escort Plummer's widow, Julie, to Zurich, where Plummer's safety deposit box has been discovered. Shane is assigned to stay at the Plummer residence in Bethesda, Maryland, to search for the secret project called GHOST and look after the family's five children: Zoe, Seth, Lulu, Peter, and baby Tyler. The kids prove to be difficult to handle, even with the help of nanny Helga, who quits when one of Zoe and Seth's pranks intended for Shane goes wrong. Later, the school's vice principal, Duane Murney, informs Shane that Seth has cut and bleached his hair, has a Nazi armband in his locker, and has skipped every wrestling practice for a month. At home, Seth tells Shane he only joined the wrestling team because of his father. After Seth sneaks out of the house, Shane follows him to the town theater, where he learns that Seth has secretly joined an amateur production of "The Sound of Music". The director quits as he believes the show will be a failure. Shane volunteers to take charge of the show, take care of the house, give Zoe driving lessons and teach Lulu and her fellow Firefly Scouts martial arts to defend themselves against the rival boy scouts. As Seth quits the wrestling team, Shane challenges Murney to a wrestling match in front of the entire school, which he easily wins despite Murney's show of bluster. The Firefly Scouts uses the skill Shane taught to beat the rival boy scouts. Zoe and Shane share stories of their fathers, both of whom died in similar circumstances. They are interrupted by a phone call from Julie, who has figured out the password, retrieved a key from a box and is on her way home. The kids immediately plan a "Welcome Home" party. That evening, Shane discovers a secret vault underneath the garage, which requires a key to open. When Bill and Julie arrive home, Bill and Shane go to the garage, where Wolfe says he is rethinking his career. Two armed ninjas arrive and pull off their masks, revealing themselves as the Chuns - the Plummers' North Korean neighbors. Bill suddenly knocks out Shane, revealing himself to be a double agent. Mr. Chun restrains and guards the children while Bill and Mrs. Chun take Julie down to the vault. They open the door, but a dangerous security system prevents them from proceeding. The children escape and awake Shane, who sends the kids to get the police while he goes to the vault to help Julie. Mr. Chun follows them in his car. With Zoe at the wheel, the kids force him to crash. Shane gets past the security system using the dance Howard had used to make Peter go to sleep each night. Julie knocks out Mrs. Chun, and Shane's voice activates the final vault, knocking out Bill with the door. By then, the children have lured a large crowd of police to the house. Mr. Chun arrives and holds all of them at gunpoint. Shane notices the school principal and his love interest Claire Fletcher right behind him, having followed the chase when she saw it pass by the school. Shane distracts Mr. Chun with the help of his duck Gary, and Claire knocks him unconscious. With Bill and the Chuns arrested, Shane and the Plummers say their goodbyes, and Shane and Claire kiss. At Seth's performance, it is revealed that Shane has retired from the Navy and joined the school staff as the new wrestling coach. Murney, dressed as a nun, also performs in the play, singing "Climb Ev'ry Mountain" off-key. Cast * Vin Diesel as Lieutenant Shane Wolfe, United States Navy SEAL. * Lauren Graham as Claire Fletcher, the principal of the Plummer children’s school, formerly in the Navy. * Brittany Snow as Zoe Plummer, the eldest of the children; she is a sixteen year old high school student at Chesapeake Heights Public School and a typical teenage cheerleader girl. * Max Thieriot as Seth Plummer, the second oldest child. He is a thirteen year old middle school student at Chesapeake Heights Public School and is sullen teenage boy. * Morgan York as Lulu Plummer, the middle child and is ten years old. She is a fourth grader in elementary school. * Kegan and Logan Hoover as Peter Plummer, the second youngest; he is three years old and can only go to sleep when someone sings the "Peter Panda" song, and wears white diapers. * Bo and Luke Vink as Baby Tyler Plummer, the youngest; a seven-month-old infant. * Faith Ford as Julie Plummer, mother of the children. * Chris Potter as Captain Bill Fawcett, Wolfe's commanding officer, who is later revealed to be a double agent working with the Chuns. * Carol Kane as Helga, the children’s Czech nanny. * Brad Garrett as Vice Principal Dwayne Murney, the school's deep voiced vice-principal and wrestling coach. * Tate Donovan as Howard Plummer, a professor who develops "GHOST”. * Denis Akiyama and Mung-Ling Tsui as Mr. and Mrs. Chun, the Plummers' next-door neighbors, who are later revealed to be villainous North Korean spies looking for "GHOST". * Scott Thompson as the director of a local production of The Sound of Music. Soundtrack Reception Critical response On Rotten Tomatoes, a review aggregator, the film has an approval rating of 20% of 129 reviews, with an average rating of 3.7/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Vin Diesel parodies his tough guy image for the family audience, but the result is only moderately amusing." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 30 out of 100, based on 27 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A–" on an A+ to F scale. Roger Ebert gave the film two stars out of four, writing, "This premise is promising, but somehow the movie never really takes off." Box office The film opened at #1 in the box office upon its opening weekend with $30.6 million. By the end of its run, it earned $198.6 million worldwide. Sequel In December 2015, Vin Diesel said that a sequel was in the works. See also *''True Lies'' *''Man of the House'' *''Kindergarten Cop'' *''Big Momma's House'' *''The Spy Next Door'' *''Daddy Day Care'' References External links * * * * * Category:2005 films Category:2000s action films Category:2000s comedy films Category:American films Category:American comedy films Category:American action comedy films Category:English-language films Category:Fictional nannies Category:Films about babies Category:Films about children Category:Films about siblings Category:Films about families Category:Films about widowhood Category:Scouting in popular culture Category:Action comedy films Category:Films shot in Toronto Category:Spyglass Entertainment films Category:Walt Disney Pictures films Category:Films scored by John Debney Category:Films produced by Roger Birnbaum